Networking issue with certain Intel boards

[Tripredacus]

I've been experiencing some network related problems using the WinPE (via PXE) on two (four) Intel motherboards using their onboard controllers. They are the DG33BU/DG33FB and the DG45ID/FC. They have different controllers, but use a newer driver package than other Intel boards that I work with. The DG33 uses the Intel 82566DC-2 (VEN_294C) controller and the DG45 uses the Intel 82567LF (don't have one of these on hand right now) and they both exhibit the same issue. Here is a run down of the symptoms.

Boot via PXE. The WinPE loads the startnet.cmd, which does the init, start networking, maps a network drive, registers a DLL and launches an HTA file. But it gets hung up at mapping the network drive, it returns an 1321 error code. I had written a program to remap the drive, which I have to launch manually on EVERY machine that contains these two boards. After I run this program, it maps the drive and refreshes the HTA and everything is workable.

Then I choose to image the hard drive with Imagex. After the image is deployed, it loses the network drives. If I attempt to run my program again, it always fails, and manually deleting and remapping the drives fail with error 1231. I have an additional program that I run after the drive is imaged which copies files off the server, but I can't use it on these boards.

I am at a loss as to why this is. All other boards I work with (MSI, Intel, AOpen, etc) do not have this problem. There appears to be an initial network initialization delay after loading the driver for the NIC at the beginning of the process, but it shouldn't fail on the drive mappings RIGHT AFTER it is active at copying files from the server.

The G33 boards are at the end of their run and will go EOL in a couple months, but the DG45ID/FC is new and I know for a fact it will be a replacement for the ending DQ35JO line, so this is going to be a major slowdown for us around Q2. I have already PEIMG the newest Vista 32 drivers from Intel for these boards and it has not changed anything.

Anyone have any ideas about this?

I am using WinPE 2.0 using Vista SP1 Servicing update. Latest version of OPK (we cannot use WAIK for licensing reasons) Tools. Server (IMAGEX) details in my sig.

EDIT: Microsoft SR opened for this issue. I will keep you posted.

Edited January 19, 2009 by Tripredacus

[hj_fr]

Do you have the latest driver from Intel website (actually 13.5 version)

Maybe, try this (editing inf file to remove unused OS):

http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=21970

[Tripredacus]

We have the latest drivers. So far we've done NetMon traces on working and non-working boards but have yet to find the issue.

However, the issue of losing access to network drives after the image was deployed was fixed. It was a coding issue I had not noticed. Now the issue is only that there are errors initially upon trying to map the drives via startnet.cmd.

[WreX]

Have you tried putting in a loop that retries the mapping 2 or 3 times if it fails the first time? It could just be a timing issue with the driver and hardware being ready.

[Tripredacus]

Have you tried putting in a loop that retries the mapping 2 or 3 times if it fails the first time? It could just be a timing issue with the driver and hardware being ready.

That's what Microsoft is thinking right now. We're going to send them a demo unit so they can debug the process. I'm not really in the mood to put in a code change like the loop just for these 3 boards.